Welcome to the cool Saunablogger blog, stories from saunas around the world, from Finnish smoke saunas to luxury spa saunas. Not to mention hotel saunas! The Saunablogger has explored saunas in 31 countries, in a total of 121 saunas. You can also click on the map below to see where in the world they took place.
The Saunablogger articles appeared originally in the Blogspot Planetskier series, at TGR posts, or at the Relaa website. See also the articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, and swimming.
All sauna-related articles:
| Testing the new Matinkylä swimming hall I had an idea to for once visit a swimming pool somewhere yesterday. Pre-pandemic, I might have gone swimming several times a week. The pandemic interrupted that, but even after the pandemic issues are mostly gone, I don't find myself going too often. I've only been to Finnish swimming pools couple of times a year recently. Maybe being too busy, or trying to use the time for walking. Anyway, missing a lot. But what a nice treat the visit to the Matinkylä swimming pools were! Full story January 2023, Matinkylän uimahalli, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Water, Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna on a boat My train trip through Europe also involved one boat ride, from Turku to Stockholm. A day boat... arriving just in time in Stockholm for the night train. But, more importantly, the boat had three nice things going for it: (1) a cabin included in the ridiculously low 30€ price, nice for conference calls and naps, (2) decent restaurants to eat at, and (3) a spa with several saunas and pools, all with views of the archipelago as we were sailing towards Marienhamn. Full story November 2022, Maarianhaminan satama, Maarianhamina, Finland Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Reindeer burger and a hot sauna. Airport lounges redefined? Only in Finland, and only in Helsinki, and only with Finnair. Nowhere else can you enjoy a lounge sauna and a reindeer burger in the airline lounge. Not too shitty. But then I had to squeeze myself into a small metal tube for travel. Full story July 2022, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying; Travel; Sauna (Normal) | |
| Ski, sail, sauna, and swim A fun day, starting with emergency skiing 🎿 the quickly disappearing snow on my local hill at 6am, continued with sailing ⛵️to Suomenlinna on Markus’ boat - thanks! From then on the company picnic day was just starting 🙂 Lot more fun followed, e.g., a sauna 🧖♂️ and swim 🏊♂️ in the Suomenlinna boat harbor. Full story (TGR version) June 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Suomenlinnan vierasvenesatama, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland; Cafe Bar Valimo, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea) | |
| First cottage swim of 2022 Lame, but I did not swim in spring 2022 until May 28... but it was good, even if a bit cold still. Brr... but the sunsets and blueberry bushes were spectacular! Full story May 2022, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Hotel-Restaurant Bänklialp, Engelberg Bänklialp feels a bit out of the Engelberg town, on the mountain side towards the ski slopes, but is actually just a few hundred meters walk from the lifts. I particularly liked the hotel restaurant, but the very western-style alpine decoration in the lobby areas was also interesting. And, you can't dislike a a ski locker room with a hang-out lobby, sofas fridges for drinks, etc. :-) Not to mention the sauna! Sauna was the criteria that I used for booking the hotel. Full story April 2022, Hotel-Restaurant Bänklialp, Engelberg, Switzerland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Make the trip to the airport count Conference is over, time to head to the airport. How about an early wakeup, and trying to make the trip count as something interesting? I headed to the hotel sauna, then hit slopes in Semmering (one hour away), climbed and lidar-scanned a couple of caves, and still had time to check the apres ski in St. Corona ski resort :-) There was none. Full story (TGR version) March 2022, Hilton Vienna Park, Vienna, Austria; Semmering, Austria; St. Corona, Austria; Semmeringhalbhöhle, Semmering, Austria; Schrägaufzughöhle, Semmering, Austria Sauna (Normal); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Rock, Basic, Surveying, Rock-Limestone); Climbing (Mountain) | |
| Cyprus Sauna What do you do when you arrive in a new place? I always go check out the sauna... Full story February 2022, Harmony Bay Hotel, Limassol, Cyprus Sauna (Normal) | |
| Der Sauna im Hotel Landhaus Schmid One of the many good things with Austrian guest houses is that they almost always have a sauna. So did our place, Hotel Landhaus Schmid, in Fischen, in Austria near the ski resort of Oberstdorf. A nice sauna, and you could reserve it all for yourself. Full story January 2022, Hotel Landhaus Schmid, Fischen, Germany Sauna (Normal) | |
| Darkness in the Lapland Hotels Tampere Sauna We had an opportunity to stay at the Tampere for a night in a hotel. The Lapland Hotels Tampere was a new one for me, I had been to many other hotels there in past years. Pretty nice, great breakfast, and the saunas in the highest floor were different from usual hotel saunas. They were black! Full story October 2021, Lapland Hotels Tampere, Tampere, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Oberstegen saunas Gasthof Oberstegen is in Söll, near the border between Austria and Germany. I chose as a convenient location with a decent drive up to the ski hills but also near some caves I wanted to explore. And not far from the Munich airport! Of course, there's some saunas since we are in an Austrian gasthof... Full story September 2021, Gasthof Oberstegen, Stockach, Söll, Austria Sauna (Normal, Infrared) | |
| Birthday trip, full of fun! How much fun can you pack into one birthday trip? I started with a drink ... non-alcoholic, of course. And then things starting going faster after that: a sauna at the Oberstegen, continued with skiing on the Hintertux Glacier, went for a SUP paddling tour in an ice cave river under that glacier, and ended up climbing to the Grafenloch and Rossstall caves, and doing a 3D model of them. Not bad, and that was just the first day! Maybe for my next birthday I'll try to come with an active program. Full story (TGR version) September 2021, Hintertux, Austria; Hintertuxer Gletscher Eispalast, Hintertux, Austria; Grafenloch, Oberaudorf, Germany; Rossstall, Oberaudorf, Germany; Gasthof Oberstegen, Stockach, Söll, Austria; Gasthof Oberstegen, Stockach, Söll, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Boating, Surveying, Ice); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Surveying); Hiking; Sauna (Normal, Infrared); Travel | |
| Adler Inn Saunas While skiing in Hintertux, I stayed across the street from the Adler Inn, and was lucky to be able to visit their saunas and spa as well. What a wonderful experience! Full story August 2021, Adler Inn, Madseit, Hintertux, Austria Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor, Outdoor) | |
| Madseiterhof Saunas While skiing in Hintertux, I stayed at the Gasthof Pension Madseiterhof. A remarkably good quality/price ratio! I paid only 80€ per night, which included breakfast and dinner. The rooms are not the newest, but they have a VERY nice sauna at the basement. Full story August 2021, Gasthof Pension Madseiterhof, Madseit, Hintertux, Austria Sauna (Normal, Infrared) | |
| Vihta. Vasta. Whisk. A fresh bath whisk from my own garden, and enjoying a Friday evening in my own sauna. Bliss! Full story June 2021, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| White wall I recently watched the new mini-series "White Wall" on YLE Areena. This is a Finnish-Swedish production. The plot is about a mine being converted to store nuclear waste... until they hit something strange. Full story November 2020, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None, Media); Sauna (None, Media) | |
| Refreshing October sea swim I had a nice, refreshing dip in the sea, mid-October. Twelve degrees. Cold, but if you compare it to the usual summer sea water temperatures, not that much lower yet... Full story October 2020, Rantasauna ystävän mökillä, Töllinkari, Salo, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea, Beach) | |
| Sauna at the duck Tero and I stayed at the "Duck" (Ankka), a cabin near Ruka. We had driven up with Tero's car to avoid having to use flights or get too exposed to viruses. Full story October 2020, Mökki Ankka, Ruka, Kuusamo, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Saunahut at the Berghotel I managed to find a very nice, remote mountain hotel to stay at: Berghotel Sudelfeld. They also had a sauna! Full story August 2020, Berghotel Sudelfeld, Bayrischzell, Germany Sauna (Normal) | |
| Midsummer swim I was a bit busy among picking up groceries, work in the yard, and fetching some medicines for the kids that I almost had no time to celebrate midsummer on the eve. But, I did get a chance to put in a very nice swim! Full story June 2020, Jupperinranta, Kuninkainen, Espoo, Finland; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Swimming (Outdoor); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Saunas at the Hilton Zürich Airport It seems insane to stay at airport hotels, but this time it worked well for me. Convenient for the early morning departure, free train ticket to my meeting site, and, most importantly, a nice sauna department! Full story February 2020, Hilton Zurich Airport, Kloten, Switzerland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Kayseri. Sauna. My main requirement for our hotel in Kayseri was that it should have a sauna... which is fortunately quite likely in Turkey. Full story February 2020, Holiday Inn, Kayseri, Turkey Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Alaska Inn. In Israel of all places! Funnily enough, our hotel was called Alaska Inn -- even if it was in Israel. Full story February 2020, Alaska Inn, Metula, Israel Sauna (Infrared) | |
| Unexpected sauna in Istanbul Having been delayed, rerouted, and cancelled umpteen times, we spent a short night sleeping on the benches of the new Istanbul airport. But our eventual flight turned out to be in the next evening, so we asked for a hotel room for the day. Full story February 2020, Novotel Istanbul Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey Sauna (Normal) | |
| Ariston Hotell sauna. Or is there one? I always book different hotels on my trips to Sweden, to try out different areas for fun, but also to test drive different saunas. This time I booked the Ariston Hotell in Lidingö, a nice island community near Stockholm. With ski a ski hill... no snow during this bad winter though. Full story January 2020, Ariston Hotell, Lidingö, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Österreichisches Saunaerlebnis Our quick start for year 2020 involved skiing in the Austrian alps, about an hour south of Salzburg. We found a nice, affordable hotel, LUFA in St. Michael im Lungau. While being affordable at only a bit more than 100€ per night, it had nice sauna facilities. Full story January 2020, JUFA Hotel Lungau, St. Michael im Lungau, Lungau, Austria Sauna (Normal, Steam, Infrared) | |
| Kopaonik Spa Experience While in Serbia I stayed at the Dvori apartments, about 10 kilometres from the ski slopes. They had a quite nice spa area, with a jacuzzi and four saunas. Very relaxing! Full story December 2019, Dvori Apartments, Kopaonik, Serbia Sauna (Normal, Steam, Infrared); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Lounge sauna Every time I fly out from the non-Schengen side of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, I visit the new Finnair lounge sauna. Dark, hot bliss! Full story November 2019, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Studio Hotel On the following week, I managed to score a luxury accommodation, a hotel room with a window! Full story November 2019, The Studio Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Room without a window Connect Hotel: In my quest to try all the saunas in different hotels in Sweden (or Kista, at least) I booked this hotel for a very special price... only for me. Cheap, but the room didn't come with a window. That was fine, it was a hack-documents-until-2am day anyway. Full story October 2019, Connect Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna & Swim in Sofia Before the Red Cross camp opened for the caving conference, I had to stay one night somewhere, and have a place for some work conference calls. I ended up selecting the Tsarsko Selo Spa hotel. An interesting place, with many saunas and pools :-) Full story September 2019, Tsarsko Selo Spa hotel, Sofia, Bulgaria Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
| Champagne served in a hot outdoor tub This is how to serve champagne in Palju (a hot outdoor tub heated by wood fire): floating. Full story September 2019, Kekkolan Kartano, Mikkeli, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Gallträsk swim I've lived 25 years in Kauniainen, but today was the first time that I swam in our lake, the Gallträsk. A perfect, hot day for that. Full story July 2019, Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Swimming (Outdoor); Sauna (Normal) | |
| The Black Sauna at the Finnair Platinum Lounge I am heading to the IAB workshop & IETF but not before trying the new black sauna at the Finnair lounge with Ari. Full story July 2019, Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Normal); Travel | |
| Harmony Spa Today I washed the sweat and dust of the day off at the Harmony Spa. Very, very nicely coloured sauna. Hot too. And a nice blue pool. Full story July 2019, Harmony Spa, Budapest, Hungary Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| 22th floor sauna Once again in Kista, Stockholm. For work. In the summer everything seems to be better, though. Like hotel pricing. Apparently Kista is not a big vacation destination, so even the best hotels go for 60€ a night, so this time I'm staying at the Scandic Victoria. Full story July 2019, Scandic Victoria, Kista, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Corporate sauna in a Russian harbour I attended a workshop at a private corporate facility in Kirkkonummi, and it turns out that there was both a very nice sauna, swimming place, as well as ruins from the Russian occupation times: a railroad leading to a rock, almost disappeared harbour pier. Nice surprise! Full story June 2019, Corporate Sauna, Kirkkonummi, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Waterbody-Sea); Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
| Free sauna, but $$$ for shower Kinnerstugan, north of Visby in Gotland, Sweden, has a nice sauna. Plenty hot! And it is free... except that you need 5 crown coins for the showers. Full story June 2019, Kinnerstugan, Gotland, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Recycling the Mäntyvihta It turns out one can recycle the pine bath whisk. Just stick it in a terrace flower box, just like people normally decorate their terraces with evergreen tree branches. Full story June 2019, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Den Haag Spa at the Crowne Plaza For a work meeting, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Hague. It turned out that they had a nice spa area, with four different saunas and good pool. Full story June 2019, Crowne Plaza, Hague, Netherlands Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Mäntyvihta (pine bath whisk) Wow. This was something else, a vihta (bath whisk) made of pine branches. Full story June 2019, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Lähteen sauna My colleagues had organised an event at the Lähteen Sauna, in the area of the Lapinlahti mental institute. Ex. institute... and Lähteen sauna is as far as I know, the oldest still operating sauna in Helsinki that is still open to public. Full story June 2019, Lähteen sauna, Lapinlahti, Helsinki, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Spreewald While driving around in Germany, I had an opportunity to visit the Spreewald area. Full story June 2019, Spreewald Therme, Burg, Germany Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Yacht hotel. And a sauna. Obviously. Spending the night right in Stockholm's old town? On a yacht? With an excellent sauna heated up just for you? For 1000 SEK (100€) a night? Enter Mälardrottningen... not bad at all! Full story May 2019, Mälardrottningen, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Hot Lake While driving around a bit after the meeting ended that day, I came across a modest looking community swimming pool in Laugarvatn. But it turned out to be a luxury sauna - thermal bath facility, the Fontana. And it was on the beach of a lake where the warnings say the lake water is boiling at some places. Care for a swim? Full story May 2019, Laugarvatn Fontana, Laugarvatn, Iceland; Hot Pot, Laugarvatn, Iceland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Thermal-Bath); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Thermal-Bath); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
| My massive crash in the Ylläs 24H During the Ylläs 24h race in 2019, around 2am I was heading down the Worldcup run at, I guess, at a bit over hundred kilometres an hour. And then something happened. I lost my skis, I tumbled, and hit myself to the icy slope pretty hard. Full story April 2019, Ylläs, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Levi Hotel Spa After the Ylläs competition, I first had a quick shower and sauna at the Pöllö next to the slopes. But since I had a long wait for my flight, I wanted to visit a proper spa. I had not been in the Levi Hotel Spa near the airport in a long time, so time for that today! Full story April 2019, Levi Hotel, Levi, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Karlovy Vary For afterski, I felt like I needed a shower. But maybe not just that... perhaps a sauna, or a dip into a pool. How about the divine thermal bath waters of Zámecké Lázně in the nearby Karlovy Vary? Full story March 2019, Zámecké Lázně, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Thermal-Bath) | |
| Sauna magic experiments. Failed experiments. I was inspired by this recipe for sauna scents, and wanted to try my own variants, one with juniper and another one with tar. But the experiments failed... Full story March 2019, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Marco Polo's Sauna While at Gudauri, we stayed at the Marco Polo hotel. The hotel has a spa, with a small sauna, pool, and a jacuzzi. The sauna is small but fiery. It was also fun to meet Russians who wanted to talk about the infamous (and sadly, deadly) Finnish-Russian sauna world championships... Full story February 2019, Hotel Marco Polo, Gudauri, Georgia Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| WTF? No sauna??? I was in Kista once again, and this time tried out the new hotel, Comfort Hotel Kista. A new hotel building, and very, very nice. Modern rooms but still with a warm feeling. But WTF, how can one have a new hotel without a sauna??? Full story February 2019, Comfort Hotel Kista, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (None) | |
| Back in the S.A.U.N.A. After two weeks with stiches, finally got the OK to go back to the sauna again. Bliss! Full story February 2019, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Laugaskard swimming pool Amazing! The Laugaskard swimming pool is a community-run, swimming pool, gym, and sauna facility. What a wonderful, hot swim outside in the cold weather. Full story February 2019, Laugaskard swimming pool, Laugaskard, Iceland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Steam) | |
| No sauna for me -( No sauna for me for the next ten days. I had a small operation on my hand... and the wound has to heal Full story February 2019, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Swims were kinda average I had an opportunity to swim twice this week. At a spa in the Tokyo evening, the water was so hot that my skin was hurting. And having come back home, I joined my colleagues for a visit at the Löyly in Helsinki. The water in the sea was ... also hurting my skin. But, on the average is was pretty nice temperatures. And in both places the views were great. Full story January 2019, Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan; Löyly, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Indoor); Swimming (Outdoor); Sauna (Normal); Sauna (Normal, Smoke) | |
| Russian Sauna What a wonderful sauna. So Finnish... or so Belarussian... or, really, Russian. The Russian sauna culture is similar to Finland's, except only more so. More hot, close to 110 degrees Celsius in my case. More snowplay. More cold water. More funny hats. Maybe also more vodka. Full story (TGR version) January 2019, Silichy, Belarus Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Madonna di Sauna The Hotel Milano in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, was our home for couple of days after the new year. I used their sauna every day... a typical small hotel basement sauna. Full story January 2019, Hotel Milano, Madonna di Campiglio, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Stockholm Hilton Over the years, I've stayed many times at the Hilton in Slusseln, Stockholm. Usually it is priced too expensive for me to be able to book it for business trips, but this time it was on offer at the same price as my other alternatives, so I took it. I had a visit in the sauna early in the morning before heading to my meetings. Full story January 2019, Stockholm Hilton, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Löyly! The Löyly sauna & restaurant in Helsinki has been the most notable architecture and experience thing of recent years in Helsinki. I've been there, but not yet in the sauna side. Today it changed because my co-workers organized a very nice event there for our surfing club... Full story January 2019, Löyly, Helsinki, Finland Sauna (Normal, Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Ice, Waterbody-Sea) | |
| Boiling with the best Tokyo bay view Huh, pretty hot weather. And hot sauna. Burning in both, almost. And thick carpets in the sauna! But what a view over the sea, Tokyo downtown, and the rainbow bridge. Full story January 2019, Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| The Kauniainen Swimming Hall I often go to various exotic saunas and swimming pools (or holes in ice), but I have to lift up also my home town swimming hall in Kauniainen. Small, old, and not particularly fancy. But, a very nice place to put in some laps. Full story December 2018, Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| No car, no skilift, no problem No car, no skilift, no problem! My car is broken, but fortunately, since I live in the world's happiest town, I can walk to the ski hill, ski down to the bus stop, take the public transport to the public swimming pool, and lock my skis in the bike rack. And return by train. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2018, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Keski-Espoon Uimahalli, Espoo, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor) | |
| Sauna in the middle of the living room An infrared sauna in the middle of the living room? What an idea! Full story November 2018, Cordial Golf and Wellness Hotel Kitzbühel, Kitzbühel, Austria Sauna (Infrared); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna at the Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza Today I'm staying at the Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza. My usual hotel search includes the condition that it must have a sauna. Elite has one, too :-) Full story November 2018, Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Bangkok Sauna I also had to test the sauna at my meeting hotel, the Marriott Marquis Queen's Park Bangkok. Full story November 2018, Marriott Marquis Queen's Park, Bangkok, Thailand Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Amaranten Sauna In the 1990s I used to spend a lot of time at the Amaranten hotel in Stockholm. It has been a long time... but now I visited it again. It is still quite a decent hotel, nice rooms. However, the sauna ... leaves something to be desired. Full story October 2018, Clarion Hotel Amaranten, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna in Harbin I was on a business trip in Harbin, China, at a decent hotel, the Songbei Shangri-La. It turned out that they had a VERY nice pool and sauna area. Full story (TGR version) September 2018, Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin, China Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel On my recent trip to Austria, I stayed for a few days in Hintertux at the Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel. Hintertux is already by itself an amazing environment with the green hills and towering mountains and glaciers. But the Berghof turned out to be perhaps the best sauna & spa hotel that I've been to! Full story August 2018, Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel, Hintertux, Austria Sauna (Normal, Steam, Infrared); Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna at the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth I'm staying at a conference in Montreal, at the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth hotel. Full story July 2018, Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Own sauna and bath whisk from the garden! Rare vihta from own garden. I should cut down an overgrown jungle of trees, but first things first: using the branches for a good purpose :-) And the tree-cutting... maybe some day. Full story July 2018, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna in Rome After a day of waiting in lines for sights in 36 degree sunshine, it was time for a sauna. Fortunately, the Hilton Garden Inn at Calridge had one. Or two, really, a Finnish and Turkish saunas. Quite nice, quite hot, and there was a bucket of water to throw on the heater as well. Full story July 2018, Hilton Garden Inn Rome Claridge, Rome, Italy Sauna (Normal) | |
| LivingWell at Heathrow Airport The LivingWell gym club has a facility at the Terminal 4 Hilton in Heathrow. Is it any good? Full story July 2018, Hilton Terminal 4, Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Travel | |
| Cleaning up rat shit in the cabin +10C, raining, high winds, cleaning up ratshit in the cabin, a fallen tree on our swimspot... HAPPY MIDSUMMER!!! Full story June 2018, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Camping Sauna At the Lummelunda campsite, someone had constructed a sauna out of tarp. Rocks would be heated in a nearby fire pit, and then brought inside for the heating of the sauna. Full story June 2018, Lummelunda campsite, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Solbergabadet While at the caver's camp, I felt like I needed a shower... and a sauna. Solbergabadet in Visby to the rescue! Full story June 2018, Solbergabadet, Visby, Gotland, Sweden Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| What's This? Mystery metal hut. I was looking for an entrance to a tunnel I saw in Rotebro, but was in the end unable to find a way in. I did, however, find an odd, round metal hut at the top of the cliffs. Full story May 2018, Metal hut, Rotebro, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Buildings); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Santasport 45 minutes before I need to be at the airport. But I'm sweaty. Is there a sauna that I could visit? Yes there is. Santa's sauna. Full story May 2018, Santasport, Rovaniemi, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Another visit to Kuusijärvi 1/ It is -15C 2/ I had a nice smoke sauna & dip to lake 3/ But my car... dead. Now waiting for the tow truck. Full story February 2018, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor, Ice, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Swim in the East Itäkeskuksen Uimahalli I visited the Itäkeskus swimming hall after many years of not being there. It is one of my favourite community swimming pools. Full story February 2018, Itäkeskuksen uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Underground, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| February Swim I went for a swim in the Allas Sea Pool today, again. Except that now it is February, and it is -5 C outside. Full story February 2018, Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Ice, Beach, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage Janne and I visited Interlaken, and stayed at the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage. A grand, old style hotel, and I of course also wanted to visit their pool & saunas department. Full story January 2018, Grand Hotel Beau Rivage, Interlaken, Switzerland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Upper House Spa. Wow. It was worth waking up at 6:45am for this. If I wanted to visit the Upper House Spa at the 20th floor of this Göteborg skyscraper, I had go early before my meetings. Full story January 2018, Upper House, Göteborg, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Kazakhstan Sauna! It turned out that our hotel, the Uyut in Almaty had a sauna, and a small jacuzzi. The sauna was almost too hot, and there was no way to throw water on it. Full story January 2018, Hotel Uyut, Almaty, Kazakhstan Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Järva Sauna I thought I was being smart, staying at a cheap hotel, at a Stockholm suburb I've never been to before, Järva. But there were surprises... Full story January 2018, Ibis Järva, Järva, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Kuusijärvi Smoke Sauna Kuusijärvi smoke sauna and beach. Great public sauna, maybe best around Helsinki (?) Full story January 2018, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Outdoor) | |
| December Swim I went for a sauna and swim in the Allas Seapool today. Late arrival, after 8pm... and they were already closing at 9pm. Full story December 2017, Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Swissotel Singapore Sauna... Closed WTF? I arrived... and needed a sauna. Or at least an excuse to completing that document. Actually, I really needed a sauna to wash off travel and to warm me up from the freezing aircon climate. Full story November 2017, Fairmont Hotel, Singapore, Singapore Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| StayAt Sauna This is the cheap and far-away hotel for my office visits in Sweden. But it is comfortable and the staff is friendly. I like it, now even more when I realised there's a sauna. Full story October 2017, StayAt Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Memory of a Sauna Visited the Memory Hotel sauna. Free, but needs to be reserved. Sauna reservations are not my thing. But not a bad sauna at all! There's also a pool. Full story October 2017, Memory Hotel, Kista, Sweden Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Krakow Sauna I had an opportunity to visit a sauna in Poland. Obviously I took the opportunity! Full story August 2017, DoubleTree Krakow, Krakow, Poland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Black Snow Apocalypse. Now. Imagine bright, white snow, gently covering a mountain. Now imagine all that snow black, dirty. Melting hard ice, covered by an accumulation of pollution and dust from air. This is reality. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2017, Hintertux, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Health; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Four saunas in Dresden Late arrival... quick dinner... and then onto testing the wellness area at Dresden's Hilton hotel. Usually, hotel saunas are simple, but not this one! Full story July 2017, Hilton Dresden, Dresden, Germany Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| GRUNT! I'm between Czech Republic and Germany, on my way to a conference. Late night arrival... tired. But, the sauna at Hotel Grunt rescued me. Full story July 2017, Hotel Grunt, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic Sauna (Normal) | |
| Arizona Sauna I'm on vacation with Janne, a road trip through western US. Our hotel in Flagstaff turned out to have a sauna. Great! Full story July 2017, Flagstaff Hilton Garden Inn, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna at the Hilton... again Long meeting... but for once, I had a free Sunday morning, so I went to the sauna and pool at the Prague Hilton. Hot... spacious and well-maintained sauna. Full story July 2017, Hilton Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna at Lummelunda Vandrarhem Earlier this week I was on caving at the Lummelunda caving week. Afterwards... I needed some refreshing. Sauna to the rescue! Full story June 2017, Lummelunda Vandrarhem, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Ice-swimming in Midsummer I was just going to walk around in rain, but the sign for ice swimming caught my attention. Full story June 2017, Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna at the Hilton I had an opportunity to get an upgrade for my room at the Tallinn Hilton Park the other day. I don't usually care for upgrades, but this one had a perk: a sauna! Full story June 2017, Hilton Tallinn Park, Tallinn, Estonia Sauna (Normal) | |
| Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves I'm wet. Cold. Sweaty. And have 16 hours of travel ahead of me. Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves' sauna to the rescue! Full story May 2017, Auberge et Spa Beaux Reves, Quebec, Canada Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna at the Elite Palace This week I'm working in Kista, and it seemed like someone had hogged all hotel rooms not just in Kista but Stockholm as well. I was lucky to get one night in a hotel in Kista, and now another night in town in one of the few remaining rooms in the city. Full story May 2017, Elite Palace Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Saunablogger.cool Norway Suffering... with no sauna after skiing. Skogstad hotel to the rescue! Full story April 2017, Skogstad hotel, Hemsedal, Norway Sauna (Normal); Food | |
| Pool with a view I'm staying at the Chicago Swissotel for a conference. There was a break in Internet connectivity while we were setting up our network, so I decided to visit the sauna and pool at the 42nd floor of this high-rise hotel. Full story March 2017, Swissotel, Chicago, Illinois, USA Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| The New Leppävaara Pool I have finally visited the refurbished Leppävaara swimming pool centre. Generally, a very positive experience! So many new pools! Full story January 2017, Leppävaaran uimahalli, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Nippy? Swimming at -18C Nippy a bit? Swimming at a lake when it is -18C. Full story January 2017, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Swedish Sauna I was on a work trip in the wonderful city of Kista, Sweden. I stayed at the Scandic Victoria. Our days were packed, but even if I came back very late from dinners, I wanted to do a quick test of the sauna in this fancy high-rise hotel. On floor 22, they have a gym and a sauna. Full story December 2016, Scandic Victoria, Kista, Sweden Sauna (Normal) | |
| Conrad Seoul Sauna When I travel, I try to find places where I can go to a sauna. It relaxes me... Last week I was in Seoul, South Korea, staying at the Conrad. This new hotel has a very nice gym & pool & spa area on the 8th floor. The pool is free of use for hotel guests, but the sauna costs 39,000 local (about 35€) to use. Nevertheless, I needed the relaxation. Badly. Full story November 2016, Seoul, South Korea Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Sauna in Hangzhou Another visit to a sauna in foreign land! This time in 杭州市 or Hangzhou, China! The sauna was in the Courtyard Marriott hotel that I stayed at. A bit dark and basic, but still large, and most importantly, the temperature was high enough and you were allowed to pour water to the heater! Full story October 2016, Courtyard Marriott, Hangzhou, China Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| South... but not so south I wanted go far this summer, ski the untried countries. But it was not to be, because work. And because Peru was cancelled. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2016, Hintertux, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Hiking; Travel; Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna in Shenzhen As a saunablogger, I had to report that I've been to sauna in a new city: Shenzhen, China. The sauna was in the Pavillion hotel. Not a great sauna, but I'm glad I went anyway. Turning on the temp setting made the experience better. Full story August 2016, Hotel Pavillion, Shenzhen, China Travel; Sauna (Normal) | |
| Soleil à Saint-Sauveur It is late May, and Saint-Sauveur is one of the only two open ski areas in the east. And I've already been to the other one, Killington. And what's more, all the ski crazies are here! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2016, Mont Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Titlis in the Darkness You have to take six lifts to get to the top. And we were late, because travel. But it turns out you can also stay late. By the time we started our final 2km vertical descent, it was already dark. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015, Engelberg, Switzerland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Basic); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Cave with a View There are usually no great views from caves, at least not of the sunset. Except at Rokokallio. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015, Päällysluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Caving (Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Basic); Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| One of Those Rounds This is how we do ski lifts in Finland. I wanted to give you a taste of one round of the 24-hour ski competition in Ylläs, Finland. As if doing 30+ miles of vertical in one day wouldn't be enough. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2015, Ylläs, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sauna im Stubai My kids follow me on some of my trips. Not only to enjoy the great skiing, but also to learn about culture. For instance, where else would my sons learn about der Sauna, except by going to the Freizeitcentrum im Stubai, Austria? Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2015, Stubaital, Austria; Eisgrotte Stubaier Gletscher, Stubai, Austria; Schlick 2000, Austria; Patschkofel, Austria; Freizeitcentrum im Stubai, Stubai, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Glacier, Basic, Showtour); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Storfinnhova sauna inside a natural rock. With a waterfall. Smoke sauna for 45 people, with a small waterfall and a warm pool, all inside. Takes three days to heat up. This is possibly one of the greatest sauna experiences I've had. Full story October 2014, Storfinnhovan savusauna, Björkboda, Finland Sauna (Smoke) | |
| Lost World The sun is still bright, but the environment is getting strange. Fog is engulfing us. Plants are starting to look pre-historic. And I'm hanging from a 100 meter rope, above the Lost World, a cave system in Waitomo, New Zealand. And it is starting to look like my landing spot is in the river at the bottom of the cave. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2014, Waitomo, New Zealand Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, SRT); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Tourist in Beijing A few free hours appeared in my schedule, so I wanted to become a tourist. And do all the usual things tourists do here in Beijing. Like going to the sauna or skiing. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) (Svenskt version) September 2013, Qiaobo, Beijing, China Skiing (Indoor, Snow); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Sheep Skiing The girl at the sheep farm gate is from Qatar. Most tourists here seemed to be from Middle East, so I ask her why she had come to Austria: "Because it is so cool, and the weather is nice." We are standing in cold rain, but I guess she prefers a change to the weather at home. But come to think of it, I too prefer cold and rainy. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) July 2013, Kaprun, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Skiing in Aland It is mid April and the sun is shining. Is there still some snow left somewhere? There is, at Aland! The Aland islands between Sweden and Finland are known for their sunny summers and flat landscape. I took a boat there to investigate if there'd be any skiing. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2013, Germundo Alpin, Aland, Finland; Hotel Savoy, Maarianhamina, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Yellow Snow I always wanted to ski on yellow snow. Well, not really. But it always seemed that those fun half pipes were forbidden for skiers, so I was glad to find an empty half pipe in Tahko last Sunday. With no one to tell me that skiers were not welcome. Even if it was a yellow half pipe. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2013, Tahko, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Inverted Heliski Gotta love the French. Masters of bureaucratic directives. Or circumventing them. Take heliski, for instance. Heliski is illegal in France. But here we are, spending a day with skis and helicopters. For only 60€, to boot. It turns out that it is illegal to use a helicopter to take us to a mountain. But there is nothing that prevents using one take us from a mountain. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2013, Alpe d'Huez, France Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts, Heli, Car); Sauna (Normal); Flying | |
| Midnight Sun at Riksgransen Many of my friends are regulars at Riksgränsen. But I had never been to this place that calls itself "Sweden's most legendary ski area". The legends are true. It is an amazing place. For starters, we were there in midsummer, skiing at midnight. In bright sunshine! The ski area is far above the arctic circle, and for about two months in the summer the sun does not set. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2012, Riksgränsen, Sweden Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Afterski; Sauna (Normal); Urban-Exploration (Buildings) | |
| Grani Summer Ski I am at the summer ski center in Kauniainen. It is +15 degrees Celcius in hot sunshine and a gentle, warm wind. It is a perfect day to go skiing, in my swimsuit. Today is First of May, a national holiday in Finland. Most people party hard or gather in crowds in the city center to do silly things. I've chosen to do my silly things here on my local ski hill. Full story May 2012, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Hero or Bonehead? While the opinions were split among the spectators that came to talk to me afterwards ("are you the guy who skied that?"), I think the answer is definitely "bonehead". This was just too dangerous. I need to go back to skiing safer slopes. Full story April 2012, Kitzsteinhorn, Kaprun, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Climbing (Mountain); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Desperately Seeking After-Ski I was depressed, alone and ready to hit the bed, walking towards my hotel when I saw the Ambiente Cafe. Full story February 2012, Les Arcs, France Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Family and Off-Piste Skiing in Are As far as I can tell, Are is the best family ski resort on the planet. Full story March 2011, Are, Sweden Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |